High Holidays

“I have swept aside like a cloud thy transgressions.” Merciful in its authority, ethereal in its imagery, and intimate in its address, this line, uttered by God to the people of Israel in the Book of Isaiah, resounds with the chief concerns of... Continue Reading ⇒

(JTA) — Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels didn’t mince words when he criticized Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump and a former congregant of his Southern California synagogue, in his Rosh Hashanah sermon.

“Honestly, Mr. Miller, you’ve set back the Jewish contribution to making the world... Continue Reading ⇒

The Festival of Succot prescribes, as its central observance, the construction of temporary shelters – the Succah – in which we “dwell” throughout the Holiday and, especially, eat our meals. Rabbi Akiba teaches that the Succah represents God’s protective Presence during the wilderness period (Sifra... Continue Reading ⇒

It is customary on Rosh Hashanah, or later during the Ten Days of Repentance, to perform the ceremony of “Tashlich.” We go to a body of water and symbolically cast off our past sins and failings by throwing bread (or pocket lint!) into the water.... Continue Reading ⇒

Perfectly timed to coincide with the Jewish High Holy Days, the nine-member, New Orleans-based chamber music ensemble, Musaica, is presenting two evening programs highlighting selected works of Jewish and Jewish-influenced composers.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins tonight, September 9 and continues through the evening of September 11. It begins the period known as the Days of Awe or the Ten Days of Penitence, which culminates with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day... Continue Reading ⇒

SOMERVILLE, Mass. (JTA) — On the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz will lead her congregation on a walk to the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse on the Mystic River for tashlich, a centuries-old ritual when Jews symbolically discard their sins from the past year into a... Continue Reading ⇒